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enFourFourTwos 50 Best Football Managers in the World 2015Presenting FFTs list of the best gaffers on the planet...http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/fourfourtwos-50-best-football-managers-world-2015
Overview
Welcome to FourFourTwo's inaugural 50 Best Managers in the World list.We've consulted with a clutch of our knowledgable writers from around the world to settle on a half-century of the planet's top bosses. Some of them may be new to you, many certainly won't be, but each of them has a story worth telling– and a rightful place here. We hope you enjoy.
EXPLANATIONHow we chose the list
The list
50-46
45-41
40-36
35-31
30-26
25-21
20-16
15-11
10•9
8•7
6•5
4 • 3
2 • 1
Analysis
POLL Don't agree with our No.1? Tell us which boss is your king of the coaches
QUIZ Six simple questions to determine whether you are more of a Klopp or a Carver
INTERVIEWSlaven Bilic: I used to play basketball… you didn’t know that, did you?
FEATUREHannibal masks and camp classics: the story of Slaven Bilic’s guitar days
PROFILEEurope calling: how Markus Weinzierl became Germany's most promising coach
FEATURE The 13 maddest managers ever: silly superstitions, star signs and Sitton
PROFILE How Spurs flop Rebrov overcame identity, war and Lobanovsky to rule Kiev
PROFILE Why Bob Bradley is heading for the top - one fascinating step at a time
PROFILE Guardiola, Enrique... Cocu? How PSV's chief caught up with Barca's best
PROFILE Money, ambition and betrayal: the bitter story of Jorge Jesus' Benfica walkout
FEATURE The top 12 managers in the Football League
FEATURE Managers' Men: football's 'special' relationships, by those who know best
INFOGRAPHICThe most represented leagues of FFT's 50 Best Football Managers in the World 2015
INFOGRAPHICThe ages of FourFourTwo's 50 Best Football Managers in the World 2015
INFOGRAPHICThe nationalities of FourFourTwo's 50 Best Football Managers in the World 2015
FEATURE Who's the next Fergie? Mourinho? Cruyff? World football's up-and-coming managers named
FEATURE Doomsday for philosophy as gaffers choose success over ethos
FEATURE Tinkerman, wheeler-dealer, nutter: why do managers get typecast?
Everything on #FFT50MANAGERS in one place
featureMon, 13 Jul 2015 10:32:35 +0000Joe Brewin415084 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comKhedira to miss SupercoppaJuventus have been left counting the cost of their friendly defeat against Marseille with Sami Khedira sidelined by a hamstring injury.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/khedira-miss-supercoppa
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has confirmed that Sami Khedira will miss next week's Supercoppa Italiana clash with Lazio in China.
The German midfielder was stretchered off just 25 minutes into Saturday's 2-0 friendly defeat at the hands of Marseille after succumbing to a hamstring injury.
It is the second muscle injury that the 28-year-old has suffered since joining the Turin club from Real Madrid earlier this summer and there is speculation that he may not recover in time for the start of the Serie A season.
"It's a pity about Khedira's injury," said Allegri. "He was doing well and we've lost an important player for the Supercoppa."
Juventus will also be without Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli for the Lazio clash and the defensive duo were badly missed as the Italian champions endured a miserable night at Stade Velodrome.
Having fallen behind to a freak goal from Romain Alessandrini, they lost defender Stephan Lichtsteiner to a red card for dissent just before the break and their fate was sealed nine minutes from time when Abdelaziz Barrada volleyed home Marseille's second of the night.
Allegri, however, insisted that the performance was better than the result.
"We played well in spells tonight,” he said. "And now we've got a week to get ready for the Supercoppa."
Those sentiments were echoed by midfielder Stefano Sturaro, who impressed after being brought on in place of the injured Khedira.
"The red card changed the course of the game," he said.
"We had to dig deep against a team who are ahead of us in their pre-season.
"We need to focus upon the positive aspects of these friendlies and carry them into the new season."news_articleSat, 01 Aug 2015 21:05:45 +0000Anonymous427005 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comMarseille 2-0 Juventus: Night to forget for Serie A championsA disappointing 2-0 defeat at Marseille for Juventus was compounded by the loss of Sami Khedira to a potentially serious hamstring injury.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/marseille-2-0-juventus-night-forget-serie-champions
Juventus endured a night to forget in the south of France as the Serie A champions slumped to a 2-0 friendly defeat at the hands of Marseille.
A mis-hit cross from Romain Alessandrini and a late volley from Abdelaziz Barrada ultimately proved the difference between the two sides, but Juve also lost Sami Khedira to a hamstring injury and Stephan Lichtsteiner to a senseless red card.
Khedira, a close-season signing from Real Madrid, was carried off on a stretcher clutching his hamstring after just 25 minutes and the German international looks likely to miss next week's Supercoppa Italiana clash with Lazio in China.
The 28-year-old could also be a doubt for the start of the Serie A season at the end of the month, which would be a huge blow for the Turin club as they aim to retain their league title.
Moments after Khedira's premature departure, Alessandrini's ball in from the right eluded Gianluigi Buffon to give the hosts the lead and shortly before the break, Lichtsteiner managed to earn himself a straight red for dissent.
With the start of the Ligue 1 season just a week away, Marseille looked understandably sharper and fitter than the Italian champions and almost doubled their advantage early in the second half, Benjamin Mendy forcing a fine close-range save from the overworked Buffon.
Juventus, in contrast, created precious little in terms of clear-cut chances, although French star Paul Pogba did strike the frame of the goal with a stunning free-kick on 68 minutes and received a standing ovation from the home fans when he was substituted moments later.
Barrada then sealed the win for the home side shortly before the end with a spectacular volley, much to the delight of the majority of the 60,000-plus crowd in the Stade Velodrome.
But if it was a grim night for Juventus then it was an ideal final pre-season hit-out for Marcelo Bielsa's men, who will head into next week's Ligue 1 opener against Caen with a real spring in their step.news_articleSat, 01 Aug 2015 19:01:14 +0000Anonymous426954 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comJuventus rocked by Khedira injury scareJuventus midfielder Sami Khedira could miss the start of the Serie A season after picking up a hamstring injury against Marseille.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/juventus-rocked-khedira-injury-scare
Serie A champions Juventus suffered a potentially serious blow when Sami Khedira was carried off on a stretcher in the first half of their pre-season friendly clash with Marseille on Saturday.
The club's medical staff appeared greatly concerned by the condition of the German international, who slumped to the ground clutching his hamstring.
After a lengthy hold-up, the 28-year-old was taken from the field and replaced by former Genoa man Stefano Sturaro.
It is the second time the midfielder has been hit by a muscle injury since arriving from Real Madrid in June.
Khedira's injury scare will be a major concern for Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri with the start of the Serie A season just three weeks away and the Turin side due to travel to China next week to face Lazio in the Supercoppa Italiana.news_articleSat, 01 Aug 2015 18:21:14 +0000Anonymous426940 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comInjured Chiellini to miss SupercoppaJuventus' Giorgio Chiellini has been all but ruled out of the Supercoppa Italiana and could miss the start of the Serie A season.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/injured-chiellini-miss-supercoppa
Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini faces a race against time to be fit for Juventus' Serie A opener against Udinese after sustaining a hamstring injury.
The Italy international was withdrawn eight minutes into Juve's 2-1 friendly win over Lechia Gdansk on Wednesday before being diagnosed with an injury to his right leg.
As such, Chiellini is expected to be out for 20 days - effectively ruling him out of Juve's Supercoppa Italiana clash with Lazio next weekend and leaving him little time to regain fitness ahead of the season-opener a fortnight later.
Chiellini was forced to sit out Juve's UEFA Champions League final defeat to Barcelona in June with a calf injury.news_articleThu, 30 Jul 2015 17:00:19 +0000Anonymous425953 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comAllegri critical of Moratas attitudeAlvaro Morata was hauled off within 26 minutes of his introduction in Juventus' 2-1 friendly win at Lechia Gdansk.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/allegri-critical-moratas-attitude
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri hit out at striker Alvaro Morata, who was criticised for his bad attitude during Wednesday's friendly in Poland.
Half-time substitute Morata was hauled off in the 71st minute as Italian champions Juve edged Lechia Gdansk 2-1 thanks to Mario Mandzukic's last-gasp winner in the pre-season fixture.
Morata stormed straight down the tunnel following his withdrawal at PGE Arena Gdansk and Allegri was left angered by the Spain international's actions.
"It wasn't Morata's day and I didn't like his attitude," Allegri said afterwards.
"Regardless of technical errors, what really did not go well today was his attitude. When something didn't work for him, he just stopped.
"That is why I asked him to get off the pitch. He made me angry on the pitch, but then he was good as he went off to train by himself.
"There's a bad atmosphere at Juve, as everyone says we are the favourites, but that is not the case. This year will be even more difficult.
"Before this atmosphere contaminates us, we have to stop it right from now."news_articleThu, 30 Jul 2015 01:03:09 +0000Anonymous425600 at http://www.fourfourtwo.com5 clubs who sold their star man... and then did betterRaheem Sterling may have hot-footed from Liverpool to Premier League rivals Manchester City, butRobert OConnorhas picked out a clutch of clubs who thrived without their key man...Robert O'Connorhttp://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/5-clubs-who-sold-their-star-man-and-then-did-better
1) Thierry Henry, Arsenal (2007/08)
When Thierry Henry rose to plant a rare header past Edwin van der Sar in stoppage time of Arsenal’s 2-1 win against Manchester United in February 2007, the last thing on anyone’s mind was that a definitive chapter in the club’s history was closing. Six months earlier the ribbon had been cut on the shimmering new Emirates Stadium which, said Arsene Wenger and his board, would mean renewed spending powers and a new age of plenty for the previously hamstrung Gunners.
But by June the captain and record goalscorer was gone, Barcelona-bound for what seemed a modest £25 million, with insiders at the club acknowledging that Henry’s final season in north London had been a gesture of kinship towards the club he loved in order to help shift season tickets for the Emirates’ debut season.
Whatever the inside line, Arsenal defied the doom-mongers and were transformed. A young squad sprung from the shadow that the still-prolific Henry had cast, and flourished both as individuals and as a collective. Cesc Fabregas revelled in his new role as the team’s major creative hub, while a re-focused William Gallas inherited the captain’s armband with purpose. Arsenal won seven of their first eight post-Henry league games with devastating intent and sat a handsome six points clear in the New Year.
But a very public meltdown by Gallas and a horrific double leg break for Eduardo on a fateful February lunchtime at Birmingham lit the touch paper for a late-season collapse that will always define 2007/08 for the Gunners. No Arsenal side since has come as close to claiming a fourth Premier League title.
2) Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Leeds (1999/00)
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was always something of a black sheep in David O’Leary’s class of ’99 at Leeds United. In a team of fresh-faced youngsters reared in-house at Elland Road, Hasselbaink’s ready-made star quality set him apart – not in terms of ability in what was a precocious team talented beyond its years, but rather as an imported finishing touch when all around him felt organic to the point of seeming accidental.
Even so, the departure in summer 1999 of a player who'd averaged a goal every two games in two blistering seasons in West Yorkshire issued a major threat to the ambitions of O’Leary’s upwardly mobile starlets, with many fearing that the loss of the talismanic forward would leave an inexperienced side rudderless when the going got tough.
The fears were groundless. Almost a year to the day after Hasselbaink had struck the winner against Arsenal on his Elland Road swansong, Michael Bridges scored against Everton to all but guarantee Champions League football for Leeds after an eight-year absence. The goal was Bridges’ 21st of an electrifying season, fittingly taking him one ahead of the Dutchman’s tally in his final season before he departed for Atletico Madrid, as fearless young Leeds scaled new heights.
3) Kieron Dyer, Ipswich (1999/00)
In late 1998, as Ipswich strained every sinew to break back into the Premier League, there was no hotter property in the First Division than Kieron Dyer. The industrious 20-year-old was the fulcrum of the team that came within a whisker of the top flight after a series of play-off failures, which made it all the more bizarre when a local reporter failed to recognise the Tractor Boys’ starlet when out interviewing on the streets of Ipswich about the team’s promotion prospects.
The hapless hack presumably didn’t miss Dyer too much when he departed for Newcastle in summer 1999 after Town failed to make the top flight again, but the ease with which the team adapted to their star man’s departure was as unexpected as it was creditable. Three seasons of play-off heartbreak were banished when Dutch forward Martijn Reuser smashed in Ipswich’s fourth in the Wembley final against Barnsley in May 2000 to leave the Portman Road faithful asking, perhaps more legitimately: ‘Kieron who?’
4) Patrick Vieira, Arsenal (2005/06)
It’s difficult not to empathise with Patrick Vieira’s decision to swap Highbury for Juventus in summer 2005. After what had felt like a career’s worth of speculation linking the mercurial captain with Europe’s biggest hitters, and with the Gunners looking further than ever from cracking the Champions League riddle after a debacle of an exit to Bayern Munich in March, Vieira finally caved and told the club he saw his future elsewhere. With that, Arsenal’s door to success in Europe seemed to slam shut audibly.
Instead, that rumble turned out to be the sound of something stirring in the Gunners’ ranks that almost turned the Frenchman’s decision to leave on its head. There can be few more stark examples of hubris in European football than the night Vieira was rendered ineffectual as Arsenal soared past Juve in the Champions League quarter-final at Highbury en route to setting up a showpiece final against Barcelona in Paris, where the former skipper had surely always imagined his European dreams would be realised. Both parties presumably still rue the way things turned out.
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5) Roy Keane, Man United (2005/06)
That the final five years of Roy Keane’s tenure as Manchester United captain brought with them the bleakest Premier League era return for the Red Devils is one of the hidden quirks of Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign. As United conceded the initiative first to Arsenal and then to early-Abramovich Chelsea, Keane took to the MUTV airwaves to lambast the struggling squadrather than take the side by the scruff and haul them back into line as he had done following serious injury in 1999.
He'd already played his final game for the club by the time he tore into Rio Ferdinand after a shoddy performance at Middlesbrough - a TV interview that was ultimately pulled by the club hierarchy -as the Irishman’s relationship with the United management slumped to an irredeemable low. By the time he departed for Celtic, most had seen the writing on the wall.
Far fewer, however, predicted the sudden return to dominance that the club pulled off no sooner than Keane was out of the door. Three successive titles followed, part of a run that would deliver five Premier League crowns in seven years, providing a puzzling footnote to the career of the club’s most successful ever skipper.
More features like this every day on FFT.com
featureWed, 29 Jul 2015 18:33:26 +0000Joe Brewin425338 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comWhy top clubs might be culling their old players too soonBastian Schweinsteiger, Stewart Downing and Steven Gerrard have all been dispensed with this summer thanks to ageing bodies, butAlex Hesssays some clubs are jumping the gun...Alex Hesshttp://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/why-top-clubs-might-be-culling-their-old-players-too-soon
On the face of it, the transfers of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Stewart Downing a fortnight ago had little in common beyond simple temporal proximity. Both involved a hometown club: the German bid farewell to his after a decade-and-a-half of diligent service, with Downing playing the role of prodigal son six years after his own departure from the north-east.
Other than this, though, you’d be hard pressed to spot any real parallels. And yet, there is something else that unites them, something significant. To varying degrees, both illustrate a trend that seems increasingly prevalent within today’s transfer market: a creeping mistrust of ageing players.
Of course, age alone wasn't the reason for any of those moves. And yet it was most certainly a factor in each of them. Schweinsteiger, a World Cup winner only a year ago and just about as high pedigree a midfielder as you’ll find, was allowed to leave Bayern Munich by a management who, by all accounts, sensed – or at the very least feared – deterioration not far around the corner. He will be 31 when the new season starts.
Downing was earmarked for the exit door pretty much immediately after Slaven Bilic’s appointment at West Ham, made to train alone as a result. The Teessider also turns 31 this week and, given that last season saw him produce his best form for many a year, it’s hard to see that fact as anything other than central to Bilic’s ruthlessness.
Over in Turin, there were no trees torn up by Juventus when Carlos Tevez – another returning hero, another 31-year-old – announced his desire to return home to Boca Juniors. It is impossible to know how much heed was paid in the Juve boardroom to the fact that the Argentine had amassed 50 goals over his two years in Italy, helped the club to four trophies in the process, and was showing little if no sign of slowing anytime soon. But it’s fair to say that any struggle to retain his services was minimal.
Thirtyphobia
It is impossible to quantify, but certainly it feels as though these days – with transfer and contract negotiations now generating as much coverage as the football itself, and with players as much athletes as they are technicians – far more weight has become attached to age. The result? Call it thirtyphobia. The unspoken, sport-wide supposition that the moment a player exits his twenties is the moment to start engineering his departure. That 30 is the beginning of the end.
And it may largely be true, of course. But as with all tendencies, there are exceptions.
It was in Turin where the starkest and most widely cited exception occurred. Back in summer 2011, five days after his 32ndbirthday, Andrea Pirlo completed his move to Juventus from Milan, who had decided the time was right to send the bearded puppeteer on his merry way.
Four years, four straight league titles and one self-styled cult hero later, it’s fair to say that Pirlo has fully demonstrated how mileage and decline don't always work in perfect tandem. (And there’s no small irony in the identity of the selling club in that instance, given how the mythical Milan Lab has become famed for the exact opposite: extracting valuefromage by adding a precious few years to the career of many a weathered superstar.)
In a similar vein – and, by no coincidence, at the same age – Xabi Alonso was ushered out the Real Madrid exit door last summer when it became apparent that the younger, spritelier Toni Kroos was keen on a move to the Spanish capital. Alonso, spotting a ready-made and poignantly Kroos-shaped vacancy in Bayern Munich’s midfield, made the reverse journey and quickly went about demonstrating that being 32 doesn’t preclude a capacity for elite-level football.
He became Bayern’s pivotal midfielder with near-immediate effect, finished his season with a league winners' medal, and could be forgiven for indulging in a spot of schadenfreude when Real Madrid ended theirs trophyless.
All in the timing
Of course, in and of itself, the footballing Indian summer is anything but new phenomenon. That a ticking clock can bequeath inordinate value has long been known to clubs seeking out the transfer market’s loopholes, with Gary McAllister, Teddy Sheringham and Luca Toni just three of the modern era’s more celebrated examples.
At 36, Johan Cruyff made use of his final season as a player by defecting from Ajax to Feyenoord and helping his new employers to the Dutch double. Further back still, Stanley Matthews finished his career by returning to hometown club Stoke, presenting them with promotion to the top flight and pocketing the Football Writers’ Association player of the year award in the process. His age? 48.
On the flipside, there’s an equally fine art to selling a player at the moment when value and output are at their peak. For years it was Arsene Wenger who was the grand master of this, ensuring that the likes of Marc Overmars, Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry bestowed Arsenal both their finest footballing years and a handsome sum at the end of them.
These days, it’s Chelsea who seem to have perfected the art of the well-timed, well-remunerating sale. Clubs have always had to tread carefully when a player hits thieir late-twenties, but one senses that the cold feet are beginning to come earlier.
Because the emergence of thirtyphobia has been a gradual sea change rather than a sudden lurch, it's difficult to identify any milestone events. But perhaps the acquisition of Dimitar Berbatov by Manchester United is the closest thing to one that exists.
Berbatov was 27 when United broke their own transfer record to recruit him for £30.75m. That is hardly ancient, of course, but while the Bulgarian was perfectly decent on the pitch during his four seasons at United, he represented rather meagre value for money off it, eventually sloping off to Fulham in 2012 with just £5m recouped into the Glazers' coffers.
It's no accident that, with one notable exception (more on him shortly), in the seven years between Berbatov’s arrival in 2008 and Schweinsteiger’s last week, United had not paid a single cent in transfer fees for an outfield player over the age of 26.
Rocking Robin
The notion of age-related caution precedes Berbatov, but the effects of that episode in hardening doubt into dogma may have extended beyond Old Trafford. Its legacy certainly told in United’s overhauled transfer policy, but perhaps also in Chelsea's strikingly parsimonious new contract policy, in the sales of Rafa van der Vaart from Spurs, Nigel de Jong and Gareth Barry from Manchester City, and in the mass exodus of Craig Bellamy, Dirk Kuyt and Maxi Rodriguez from Liverpool, all in the summers of 2012 and 2013.
All of those players had contributed sturdily immediately before being sold, and all their clubs missed them once they'd left.
If there's a message to be taken, it’s that having an overriding strategy of replenishment is all well and good, but the above sales – especially at Anfield – show the folly of fundamentalism. It would be no shock if the exits of Schweinsteiger, Downing or Tevez were looked back on as similarly premature next May. Experience often has a value that runs beyond mere pounds and pence.
Which brings us to that notable exception, Robin van Persie. His transfer to Old Trafford in summer 2012 (fee: £24m, age: 29) perfectly demonstrated both the perks and the perils of gambling on an elder statesman.
In his first year the Dutchman was the proverbial force of nature, his 26 league goals and Cantona-esque powers of infectious renewal helping United recapture the league title from their local rivals, and in Alex Ferguson’s farewell season no less.
Whether United would have claimed that trophy without Van Persie is deeply doubtful. But a steep downturn in form and fitness thereafter saw him, due to age, wage and club politics, acting as much a hindrance to United as a help for long stretches preceding his eventual move to Fenerbahce.
A cynic would speculate that yes, perhaps Old Trafford’s bean counters did go on to regret signing Van Persie. After all, whether the club’s windfall from their 2013 title was enough to offset the outlays in transfer fees and wages is unlikely. But then again, there are many long-term merits (including financial ones) to the more intangible concepts – hunger, glory, eminence – which Van Persie’s arrival helped restore at United.
Ask any Stretford End regular if the signing was a good one and the answer is likely to be the same. It will be little surprise if it’s a similar story for Schweinsteiger in three years’ time.
Funnily enough, given that they’re among the strictest proponents of transfer market thirtyphobia, it's United who have best demonstrated that, amid all the talk of resale value, contract lengths and diminishing returns, there’s quite often one truth which trumps all others: sometimes it’s best to just have the player, and worry about the rest later.
More features like this every day on FFT.com
featureWed, 29 Jul 2015 11:31:02 +0000Joe Brewin424883 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comVidal completes Bayern switch, signs four-year dealBayern Munich have unveiled Arturo Vidal as their new signing, the Chile international agreeing terms on a four-year deal.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/vidal-completes-bayern-switch-signs-four-year-deal
Arturo Vidal has completed his move from Juventus to Bayern Munich, signing a four-year contract at the Allianz Arena.
The German champions announced last Thursday that the two clubs had agreed a deal in principle for the transfer of the Chile international.
Vidal, who won four successive Serie A titles with Juve as well as reaching the UEFA Champions League final in 2014-15, subsequently arrived in Munich for a medical before his switch - for an undisclosed fee - was officially confirmed by Bayern on Tuesday.
"I want to help the team and win trophies," said Vidal. "It is a dream come true for me personally."
Vidal has previous experience of the Bundesliga, having spent four seasons with Bayer Leverkusen prior to joining Juventus.
"I'm thrilled about playing in the Bundesliga again and obviously hope to win it this time," he added.
"I didn’t manage it with Leverkusen back then, but with Bayern there's a very, very good chance.
"I wanted to take another big step forward in my career. I want to keep developing as a player and win important trophies like the Champions League. I think the best opportunity to do so is with Bayern."
Vidal came close to completing a treble with Juve last term, as they won Serie A and the Coppa Italia before being beaten by Barcelona in the Champions League final.
And the midfielder has his sights set on securing three trophies in his first season at Bayern.
"We weren't a long way off winning all three competitions last season," he said.
"I hope we can pull it off with Bayern. That has to be the target."news_articleTue, 28 Jul 2015 13:43:10 +0000Anonymous424818 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comBayern to present VidalBayern Munich are set to present Arturo Vidal as their latest signing in a news conference on Tuesday.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/bayern-present-vidal
Arturo Vidal will be formally presented as a Bayern Munich player on Tuesday following the completion of his move from Juventus.
The German champions announced last Thursday that they had agreed a deal in principle for the transfer of the Chile international.
And on Tuesday, Bayern revealed Vidal would appear at a news conference alongside sporting director Matthias Sammer at 15:30 local time.news_articleTue, 28 Jul 2015 12:23:41 +0000Anonymous424777 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comSchalke reject Juves Draxler bidJuventus have tabled a bid for Germany international Julian Draxler, but Schalke rejected the Serie A champions' approach.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/schalke-reject-juves-draxler-bid
Schalke have rejected a bid from Juventus for attacking midfielder Julian Draxler.
The Italian champions were already known to be trailing the highly rated Germany international and representatives from both clubs confirmed a bid had been made on Monday.
"Today we made an offer based on our evaluations and I think there is still a big gap," Juve director Beppe Marotta is quoted as telling Sky Sport Italia.
"That was one of the many proposals we have put forward during this market. The player belongs to Schalke, so obviously it ultimately depends on them.
"We are in no rush, but the squad at Allegri’s disposal is solid and we are trying to add a few cherries to the cake.
"We are working on a trequartista, or at least a midfielder with certain characteristics, and a left-back who can act as an alternative to Patrice Evra while Kwadwo Asamoah recovers from his injury.
"We are looking for eclectic players, who can allow us to set out the team in various different ways. We are looking for a midfielder with certain characteristics."
Speaking after Schalke's friendly draw with Porto, general manager Horst Heldt added: "This afternoon we received and rejected a bid for Julian Draxler from Juventus."news_articleMon, 27 Jul 2015 19:24:31 +0000Anonymous424444 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comJuve kick off title defence against UdineseThe fixtures for the new Serie A season were released on Monday, with champions Juventus to face Udinese on the opening weekend.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/juve-kick-title-defence-against-udinese
Juventus will kick off the defence of their Serie A title at home to Udinese, it has been announced.
At an event to announce the full list of fixtures for the 2015-16 season, it was also revealed that last season's top two, Juve and Roma, would then meet at the Stadio Olimpico in matchweek two.
Prior to hosting Juve, who have beaten Udinese on both previous meetings on the opening day of a season, Roma head to Verona to get their campaign under way, while Inter are at home to Atalanta and Milan visit Fiorentina.
New boys Frosinone, Bologna and Carpi face fixtures against Torino, Lazio and Sampdoria respectively.
Elsewhere, Napoli begin life under Maurizio Sarri with a trip to Sassuolo, while Chievo's trip to Empoli and a clash between Palermo and Genoa round off the opening fixtures.
It was also announced that no derby fixtures would be arranged for the first or last days of the season, or in midweek slots, and the first all-Milan clash occurs in matchweek three.
news_articleMon, 27 Jul 2015 17:39:50 +0000Anonymous424413 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comSalah not staying at Chelsea - MourinhoMohamed Salah's future remains unclear, but Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has said: "He doesn't belong to my squad and he's not staying here."http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/salah-not-staying-chelsea-mourinho
Jose Mourinho is unsure where Mohamed Salah will play his football in 2015-16, but the Chelsea boss has made it clear the Egyptian will be leaving Stamford Bridge.
Salah joined Chelsea from Basel in January 2014, but he spent the second half of last term on loan at Fiorentina as part of the deal that saw Juan Cuadrado move in the other direction.
Fiorentina claimed to have an agreement to retain Salah's services for the upcoming campaign, only to be met with resistance by the player, who they say "expressed his desire to join another club".
That has led to the Serie A club considering legal action and Mourinho has acknowledged only one thing is certain regarding Salah's future.
Speaking after Chelsea's International Champions Cup fixture against Paris Saint-Germain in Charlotte, United States, the Portuguese said: "He doesn't belong to my squad and he's not staying here.
"The important thing is that he plays like he did at Fiorentina, so [I'm] happy with him going on a loan.
"Italian football is difficult football to play, especially for attacking players. So if it's not Fiorentina it's Roma or Inter or Juve - I don't know. Maybe he has a loan.
"He's a good boy and a good player. He needs more top-level football so I'm happy with any decision him and the club make."news_articleSun, 26 Jul 2015 12:41:22 +0000Anonymous423831 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comMorata relishing new-look Juve strikeforceJuventus' three-pronged attack will pose problems for sides this season, according to Alvaro Morata.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/morata-relishing-new-look-juve-strikeforce
Alvaro Morata believes Juventus' new-look strike force will only get better with time, after being paired with Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala for the first time in the friendly loss to Borussia Dortmund.
The Spaniard played as part of a front three for the Serie A champions as they kicked off their pre-season campaign with a 2-0 defeat in Switzerland on Saturday.
Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri gave first outings to Mandzukic and Dybala - newly arrived from Atletico Madrid and Palermo respectively - while goalkeeper Neto also made his debut from the bench following his move from Fiorentina on a free transfer.
With Dortmund already well into their pre-season schedule, they looked sharper than the Italians and goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus either side of the break sealed the win.
But for Morata, the opportunity to begin forging an understanding with his new team-mates was more important than the result.
"We haven’t been working together for long but they [Mandzukic and Dybala] are two top players," he told Juve's official website. "The more we play and train together, the better we'll become as a unit.
"Playing from the left worked well for me - there was plenty of space for me to run into.
"We've got so many options in the final third and that will make us a dangerous side this season."news_articleSun, 26 Jul 2015 08:31:32 +0000Anonymous423748 at http://www.fourfourtwo.comAllegri upbeat despite Dortmund defeatMassimiliano Allegri was upbeat despite watching Juventus suffer defeat in their opening pre-season match with Borussia Dortmund.http://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/allegri-upbeat-despite-dortmund-defeat
Massimiliano Allegri was not too despondent despite Juventus losing their opening match of pre-season 2-0 to Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
Allegri gave first outings to Mario Mandzukic, Paulo Dybala and Neto in the friendly encounter in Switzerland, but they were unable to stop Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus sealing the win.
With Dortmund well into their preparations for the new Bundesliga campaign, Juventus looked sluggish at times but Allegri was not overly concerned and is convinced the Serie A champions' fortunes will quickly improve.
"Obviously it is never pleasing to lose, but we knew that we would encounter difficulties this evening because Borussia Dortmund are much further ahead in terms of pre-season preparation," he told Sky Sport Italia.
"We must find our balance and lost the ball too many times coming out of defence. We must get our heads back in the game and try to be more focused.
"It was a good training session, aside from the result.
"We will find our fitness levels with time. We did some good things today and could’ve been better in controlling the ball, but we didn’t have the legs to keep up with Borussia Dortmund."
Meanwhile, Dortmund head coach Thomas Tuchel was delighted with the effort from his side as they prepare for their UEFA Europa League third round qualifier with Wolfsberger on Thursday.
He said: "We have played a very good game. I am very satisfied.
"We have reached an intermediate objective, nothing more, [but] we are on the way."news_articleSat, 25 Jul 2015 20:49:08 +0000Anonymous423537 at http://www.fourfourtwo.com